Summary: On Halloween it seems fitting to speak about Hell, this sermon shows that Hell is a choice, there are no second chances there and Heaven is a much better choie.

(All my sermons use illustrations found at www.sermoncentral.com and all scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted)

Today is Halloween, the night before what has been called “All Saints Day” a supposed time to pray and remember the dead. The History of this evening is one that has morphed into something so much different then what it was intended to be. For instance the Celts, believed that on this night we should celebrate the end of the lighter half of the year, and the beginning of the darker half. That on this night, the border between this world and the “other-world” becomes thin, allowing spirits, (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The wearing of costumes was done in order to ward off the harmful spirits. This was traditionally a night before the church could pray for those spirits that were supposedly stuck between here and heaven.

It can all be confusing I suppose, but the truth is that when we die, Heb 9:27

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,

Once we die, the next thing to come is JUDGMENT! Hell is not a place we want to be, BUT it is where the demons, ghouls and such belong. So this morning let us look at Hell from a biblical perspective and see the truth from God’s Word.

I must say that many churches and preachers do not talk much about Hell today. The doctrine of Hell is not accepted by many, In a recent survey, it was determined that 35% of Baptists; 54% of Presbyterians, 58% of Methodists, and 60% of Episcopalians DO NOT Believe in a literal place called HELL! 71% of the 8 leading seminaries in the United States Do Not Believe in either Heaven or Hell.

Hell is one of those subjects that many preachers don’t talk about because it makes us uncomfortable. BUT, if more preachers would talk about Hell, maybe less people would brag about heading there. If you could have 30 seconds in either Heaven or Hell which one would you chose to have an impact on non-believers? I would chose Hell, because it might just allow me to show HOW MUCH we would not want to be there. Jesus spoke of heaven much less then He did Hell and the “eternity of Hell” is mentioned 126 times in the NEW TESTAMENT.

Matt 25:41-46 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 45 "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."